During day time, the upper layers of air are cooler than the layers of air near the surface of the Earth. During night, the layers of air near the Earth are cooler than the upper layers of air. As sound travels faster in hot air, during day-time, the sound waves will be refracted upwards and travel a short distance on the surface of the Earth. On the other hand, during night the sound waves are refracted downwards to the Earth and will travel a long distance.

The refraction of sound wave can change speed and direction, example: light travelling from air into water.